I'm beginning to think my 2.5 year old would be better off going to daycare than staying home with me!

Gina - posted on 07/12/2012
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My 2.5 year old boy seems miserable at home with me! he quickly gets bored and only seems to thrive and have geniune fun when we go out and he gets to socialize with other children. He can go on for hours playing and doesn't seem to care wether I'm there or not when we do. This has led me to seriously reconsider my initial decision to be a stay at home mother until he is ready for Kindergarten. I do go out of my way to keep him entertained throughout the day, but apparently my companionship/play style just isn't enough for a kid as social and active as mine, I honestly didn't think this would happen so soon, but I guess every kid is different. It's gotten to the point where I almost feel guilty for not sending him to daycare/preschool. We do attend Mommy & Me twice a week for 2 hours but it just isn't enough, the rest of the days/time we go to parks/malls etc. but I notice that when he tries to reach out and play with other children they reject or ignore him and sometimes are mean to him, I guess this is because children, much like adults don't warm up to others unless they see each other and share time on a daily basis (work, volunteering, religious activities etc). So I've come to the conclusion that daycare might be the answer since he would have the same group of kids to play with on a daily basis. Any opinions or advice would be appreciated from other moms!

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I run a daycare facility in the UK and would say that both options are great for you little fella. I have my 2 year old at home with me and love it.

Why dont you if its possible just invite other moms and their toddlers from your toddler group over or arrange meet ups, that way your little fella can have the best of both worlds?

Day care is a great option if you get it right, America is the same as the UK there are sooo many that are just doing it to make money. If you can find someone that does it because they love kids then after a few days (they usually hate the firstfirst few days as its all new) they settle in and start to really enjoy.

It is a stage thing though, hes ready to start socializing etc and wants to be out there and into anything and everything he can possibly be. My 2 year old was trying to swim with the teenagers yesterday, and bless the teenagers they were gettig him to do it (hes get serable pulsay, so its a huge thing lol).

As a former day care provider (and mother of 5) I firmly believe that by age 2 kids should spend at least a day or two each week in some sort of child care center or home daycare. There is opportunities to learn and practice socialization, sharing, taking turns, patience, etc etc. Especially boys I think need this their little imaginations are soaring and they need "comrades" to soar with them. I suggest 2 - 4 hours days per week and then go from there.

my 2.5 yr old son is in daycare mondays and tuesdays and he usually loves it but there are times that he just doesnt want mummy to leave when he is with me on a friday he becomes very bored and usually runs muck and acts like a shit head lol so dont feel bad and i hope that the pre school thing works for him :)

Hi Gina,Daycare is good as long as you do a proper research (as some day care is only there as money generating business and not really care about your child well being) or family day care which part of Council or church in your area and make sure the children in the care have one or two with similar age of yours so they can learn and stimulate each other in the development.

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Nicola - posted on 07/27/2012

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Awww is he an only child? My son is an only child, he just turned four. Some days he loves daycare, sometimes he doesn't want to go until he realizes not going means he won't see his friends. Then every day he wants his friends to come over or to go to their house. Every day. There is not a single day that he and one of the other boys at daycare isn't begging to come over for a play date. He's just lonely for toddler conversation and best friends. They learn so much at daycare. My sons daycare is great, he has so much fun there. Even a couple days a week of preschool or daycare might help.

My daughter is similar only I worry she doesnt know how to interact with kids she doesnt know. She has just had surgery so at the moment home is best but once she is healed and happy I will be enrolling her in a preschool. I dont want her in care full time I think its important to build that bond with your child in their early years but I think they still need that interaction so maybe I'll start with a half day once a week and see how that goes then possibly a full day or two half days. That way she has the best of both worlds.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reach out and answer this post! your ideas and opinions are truly appreciated. I found a preschool with sensible rates, they offer flexible part time schedules so we are going to give it a try.

My son, Conrad, (turned 2 in May) is definitely similar to this. I honestly think it's a boy thing, especially busy "go" type boys which my son is and sounds like yours is too. Conrad loves to be around other kids too, it's his favorite thing and he's always asking for friends or kids. We were really lucky to find a group to start a great play group when he was 4 months old and has seen those kids at least once a week for play group. Then we added music and later gymnastics. I highly recommend some type of gymnastics class if you can find one, it tires him out, he gets kid interaction and he's learning so much from it. Our class is mommy and me but once he's over 2 1/2 it's on your own and it sounds like your son would be ready for that.That being said and back to your issue, yes Conrad gets sick of the house if we stay in all day. And your son is not bored of you I think he's just bored with the scenery. A lot of times I'll do a run to Target just to get us out of the house and to change the view for Conrad. He LOVES the park and meeting new kids but they don't always want to play with him, maybe because they're older? Don't take that personally kids are kids.Now about the school thing, for the same feelings you're having I decided to send Conrad to pre-school starting in September. The reality is there's only so much we can do with them and with busy boys they just need to be with other kids and opportunities to go to a play ground once or twice a day, or whatever the school offers. So I'd recommend looking into some schools, doing tours and not just settling for a day care. I'm really excited for Conrad to go to the school we chose, the only problem I think we'll have is that he'll want to go every day of the week and that's not what he's signed up for!

Aww, I doubt it's you! Maybe you're right though about needing more socialization. He sounds like he is a very social little boy. Maybe plan more play dates with the same people? It sounds like he has a very strong personality. Some kids are just like that. I wouldn't take it personally. My 3 year old is like that. She loves to be around other kids too.

Also do lots of activities with him. Take him to the park to burn off some of that energy. That's what I do with my daughter. I also try to do lots of projects with her like painting, coloring, gluing things etc......and she also goes to play groups and mommy and me groups. You can also try meetup.com in your area. That way you'll always be with the same people. He can make friends and so can you!